


Backache

by wantonwasting



Category: DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-08
Updated: 2014-01-08
Packaged: 2019-03-02 01:20:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13307385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wantonwasting/pseuds/wantonwasting
Summary: Noiz wants to have some fun with massage oils, but Koujaku is a bit old for that.





	Backache

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is something completely self-indulgent, since I’ve had a terrible back ache over the last few days. I’m working on other stuff with a bit more substance though :)

Koujaku emerged from the bathroom in a haze of steam, rubbing his shoulders as he walked down the corridor to his bedroom. Inside, Noiz was sitting on the bed, a sprawl of limbs with his work headset on, his attention fixed on whatever was on his coil screen. He was absently tugging on one of his lip rings with his teeth as he worked – cute. Koujaku pulled on one of his bathrobes, too tired to be bothered dressing again for the evening. He sat on the corner of his bed and started drying his hair, the silence in the room broken only by the tap-tapping of Noiz’s fingers on his keyboard.

Finished drying his hair, Koujaku fell back on to the bed with a heavy sigh.

“That was a big sigh.” Noiz said, looking up from his coil. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to tell you.”

“Oh?”

"‘Cause if I do, you’ll make some comment about my age.“

"Is that right?” Noiz asked, taking off his headset. When Koujaku did not reply, he poked the older man on the back. “Come on, just tell me.”

“…I have a back ache.”

“Is that all?”

“What, no comment about how I’m getting older?”

“You took the fun out of it.” Noiz said. He shifted into a straighter sitting position. “So, what caused your back ache?”  
“I think it’s the new salon I’m working out of.” Koujaku said. “The seats are so low. I spent hours hunched down while I was working. It’s exhausting; I don’t know how the stylists who usually work there do it.”

“Maybe they are shorter than you.”

“Maybe.”

“And they probably aren’t already exhausted by all the flirting with clients that you do.”

Koujaku sat up, irritation spiking his voice. “I don’t flirt anymore. There’s a difference between flirting and being polite. Then again, maybe you didn’t know that.”

“No need to be mean.”

“Sorry.” Koujaku said, rubbing his neck and shoulder. “I’m just in a bad mood.”

Noiz did not reply, and when Koujaku looked over, he noticed that the brat was once again engaged by his coil. Supressing another sigh – what a bad habit to get into, sighing – Koujaku stretched himself out on his side of the bed and closed his eyes.

A short nap, and then dinner. There was no doubt that Noiz would wake him for dinner, so he could have a bit of a sleep before then. Still warm from the shower, Koujaku drifted off to sleep.

* *** *

As Koujaku’s breathing evened out, Noiz glanced over at him. His damp hair was pushed back from his face, revealing his tattoo in the soft, screen-shuttered afternoon light. Noiz traced the black lines with his eyes; it was rare that he got to see it in the daylight. Sleep had drawn much of the tension from his face, but even so, the corners of his lips were pulled down into a frown. Who frowns in their sleep?

Noiz turned back to his coil and brought up a search page.

[Search: relief from back pain]

[Searching…]

[81,400,000 results for “relief from back pain”]

Noiz clicked into a few of the pages, green eyes reflecting the light from his screen as he scanned through the information presented.

“Exercise… ice packs… maintain good posture – he does that… chiropractor… quit smoking – probably not… new mattress.” Noiz looked down at the bed; it was comfortable, probably one of the most luxurious things in Koujaku’s apartment, so it was probably fine. 

Noiz resumed his search.

“Swimming… enough sleep-” Noiz looked over at Koujaku again and shook his head, “-maybe too much. Pain medication… massage?”

After a little more research, Noiz felt he had a grasp on what he wanted. There were a few things he needed first however… A glance at the still-sleeping Koujaku told him that his absence was likely to go unnoticed for a little while. He got up off the bed and quietly left.

* *** *

Everything was the same as he had left it when he returned, carrying a shopping bag and two large pizzas; the lights were still off, Beni was still asleep by the bonsai tree on the coffee table and a peek in the bedroom showed Noiz that Koujaku had not moved at all. Worried that the old man might have finally shuffled off the mortal coil, Noiz kicked the bed. Koujaku grunted softly and curled into himself.

“Hey, wake up.” Noiz called, raising his voice only a little.

Koujaku shifted as he stirred. “Dinner?”

“Yeah.” Noiz said. “C'mon, get up so we can eat. I’m hungry.”

“You got dinner?” Koujaku asked, sitting up. He smiled wryly. “Let me guess – pizza?”

“Good guess.”

“It’s not really a guess anymore.” Koujaku said, rubbing his neck.

Noiz shrugged and returned to the kitchen where he had left the pizzas. He took the boxes down to the coffee table, and turned the television on. It came on to a news program, which Noiz immediately changed to a trashy singing competition show that he unashamed to admit that he liked. The hosts were talking to the judges as snippets of last week’s episode were shown, and Noiz settled back against the cushions of the couch feeling pleased.

“We’re watching this again?” Koujaku asked as he came into the lounge room.

“Shut up, you like it too.”

Koujaku chuckled and sat down on the couch next to Noiz. “So, who’s in the lead?” He asked, reaching for the pizza.

Noiz pushed the box closer to him. “Dunno, I just turned it on. I hope it’s not Charlie X though, I can’t stand him.”

* *** *

Koujaku absently ran his fingers through Noiz’s hair, his gaze fixed on the television screen. He did not care much for trashy singing shows, but Noiz liked it and put up with his teasing, so it was not as bad as he had first thought. But his attention was far from held by the drama unfolding on the screen; his shoulders and back still ached, and the pain was distracting him. He had tried stretching and shifting his sitting position, and nothing had worked. He considered another warm shower before bed, but the last one had only provided such temporary relief…

Koujaku was so lost in his thoughts that he did not notice the program had ended until Noiz got to his feet.

“Wait here a sec.” Noiz said, and left the lounge room.

Koujaku watched him leave with some puzzlement. Had he missed something? He did not remember Noiz saying anything to him before that, but then he had not really been paying attention. 

“Okay, you can come to the bedroom now.” Noiz called.

Curious and confused, Koujaku made his way to the bedroom. Noiz was standing just inside the open door; inside the room, the lights were off but multiple candles suffused the room with soft warm light. The covers were stripped off the bed, replaced by the large towels from the bathroom. A sweet smell, borne on the smoke of the incense in the corner, drifted through the room. All in all, it was almost a picture-perfect romantic set up.

“What…?”

Koujaku’s question was cut short as Noiz pressed their lips together in a deep kiss. When they broke apart, Noiz leant up to kiss the scar across Koujaku’s nose and smiled.

“Get on the bed.” He said, his voice unruffled. “I’m going to give you a massage.”

Koujaku raised his brows but when Noiz’s face showed nothing other than sincerity, he obliged. He climbed on the bed, and then turned to face Noiz, who was still standing.

“Take off your robe.” Noiz said.

Koujaku did so, and smiled as Noiz’s gaze raked over his now-naked body.

“Lie on your stomach.”

“Are you having fun being so demanding?” Koujaku asked, still doing as he was told.

“A bit, yeah. Are you comfortable?” Noiz asked, now climbing onto the bed. Koujaku could feel the mattress depress under his weight before he felt Noiz’s knees press into his side.

“Yeah.” Koujaku said.

“Need more pillows?”

“No, I’m good.”

“I’m gonna start, so tell me if anything hurts or is uncomfortable.”

“I will.” Koujaku said, suppressing his smile by burying his face into the crook of his elbow. God he was cute. It seemed like Noiz was taking everything so seriously; had he researched this?

Koujaku heard the sound of a bottle cap popping, and automatically tensed, waiting for the cold oil to pour onto his back. But instead, he heard a rubbing sound, and when Noiz placed his hands on his back, they were warm and slippery.

For a little while, Noiz’s hands were gentle, rubbing up and down over his back, switching into circular motions and back again. Occasionally, he would trace over the scars on Koujaku’s back, pressing into them before easing off and resuming the circular pattern. The oil was heating up, and Koujaku could smell it faintly now – lavender?

The motion of Noiz’s hands changed, and Koujaku tensed up. Noiz was tracing the pattern of his tattoos.

“Sorry. Do you want me not to touch them?”

Koujaku hesitated, and Noiz stopped moving his hands. He could hear the uncertainty in Noiz’s voice, but at the same time, he did not want to think about his tattoos. Then again, it was Noiz. He did not know about the history of the tattoos, and he did not mean anything sinister by touching them.

And Koujaku trusted him.

If it was Noiz, it was okay.

“…No. It’s fine. You can touch them.”

“Good, 'cause it would really hard to miss them.” Noiz said, and resumed running his fingers firmly along the lines of ink down Koujaku’s back.

“I know.”

“I like them.” Noiz said after a moment, his voice soft in the half-light. Koujaku could feel him vary the intensity of his touch; light over the feathers, stronger over the petals of the flowers. “Your tattoos.”

“Is that so?”

“They are quite pretty.”

“Hah, you’re the first person to say that.”

If Noiz thought that an odd comment, he did not say. Koujaku could feel him spread his fingers out, and push them up along his back from his lower back up to his shoulders. As Noiz’s hands began to move in circles over his shoulders, Koujaku let out an appreciative grunt.

“Go harder there.”

“Here?”

“Exactly.” Koujaku managed between a hiss as Noiz’s fingers pushed into his tight muscles. “Can you feel it? The knot?”

“It doesn’t hurt?”

“It hurts a little, but in a good way.” Koujaku said, breath hitching again. “That’s –ah, where the pain is most. What you are doing is getting rid of the, uh, tension.”

“I see.”

“Have you ever done this before?”

“Why? Is it not good?”

“It’s great. You are very skilled with your hands.” Koujaku said, shifting slightly to look back over his shoulder.

Noiz did not look at him, his attention completely absorbed by the work of his hands. Koujaku settled back down, resting his head on his arm. Noiz’s fingers moved in steady circles, pushing into the tight muscles of his upper back. Koujaku hummed appreciatively. He really is very good with his hands, Koujaku thought for what was definitely not the first time.

“…No, I haven’t done this before.” Noiz said after a while. He moved his hands with deft strength, responding to Koujaku’s soft hums and groans. His circles became figure-eights and then resumed tracing over his tattoos before his hands found their way back up to Koujaku’s shoulders.

After a little while longer, Koujaku could feel himself become sleepy. He was warm, and the pain from his shoulders and back had completely gone. He also felt a deep contentment; he had never been treated so tenderly in his life. The fragrant oils and the warmth of Noiz’s hands was carrying him off to sweet oblivion and he did not mind.

* *** *

“You know, since we have all this oil anyway, there are other things we could try.” Noiz said, pushing his hands further down Koujaku’s lower back.

The only reply he got was in the form of soft, long breaths – which was pretty much the opposite of what he wanted.

“Seriously? Asleep already?” Noiz asked, leaning over Koujaku’s back to look at his face. The tension around his eyes and mouth had finally faded; his sleeping face looked peaceful. “I guess I waited too long, then, huh?”

Noiz climbed off the bed. He took a towel, and began to clean the oil of Koujaku’s back as gently as he could, trying not to wake him. When he was finished, he pulled the covers up over Koujaku’s shoulders and kissed him on the head.

“What an adorable old man.” Noiz whispered, more to himself than anyone else. “I hope you feel a little better tomorrow.”


End file.
